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Support grows for young Golkar figures to run for party leadership
Clasping hands: The chairman of the Golkar Party leadership as chosen in a national meeting (Munas) in Ancol, North Jakarta, in December 2014, Agung Laksono (second from left), takes a picture with the Munas Ancol campâs senior members Priyo Budi Santoso (left) and Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (second from right)
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span class="inline inline-center">Clasping hands: The chairman of the Golkar Party leadership as chosen in a national meeting (Munas) in Ancol, North Jakarta, in December 2014, Agung Laksono (second from left), takes a picture with the Munas Ancol camp's senior members Priyo Budi Santoso (left) and Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (second from right). Priyo Budi and Agus Gumiwang have both voiced their readiness to run for the party chairmanship if the Agung camp and its rival, the Aburizal Bakrie-led Golkar Party leadership formed in the Munas Bali in November 2014, agree to hold an extraordinary national meeting (Munaslub). (Tribunnews/Dany Permana)
Former president BJ Habibie's advice that the Golkar Party should be led by a younger figure has continued to draw support from party cadres.
Supporters of Aburizal Bakrie, who took over the leadership of the party after a national meeting in Bali in November 2014, and the party's splinter faction led by Agung Laksono, that was formed in a national meeting in Ancol, Jakarta, in December 2014, have both voiced their support for a younger politician taking over the party chairmanship.
The initiator of the party's youth wing, the Golkar Party Young Generation, Melki Laka Lana, from the Agung Laksono faction, expressed support for the former president's statement.
'We agree with Pak Habibie that there should be a revitalization of the position of party chair, and that he or she should be aged in between 40 to 60 years,' Melki said as quoted by kompas.com on Sunday evening.
Aburizal is 69 years old while Agung Laksono is 66 years old.
Melki added that Golkar cadres who were eligible to be nominated for party chair included Ade Komarudin, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Airlangga Hartarto, Aziz Syamsudin, Indra Bambang Utoyo, Idrus Marham, Priyo Budi Santoso and Setya Novanto, all of whom were inside the aforementioned age bracket.
However, he said that there should be a national meeting to seek reconciliation between the two factions before the party moved to nominate chairperson candidates. Open communication between the two factions would hopefully lead the way for international reconciliation to resolve conflicts within the party, he added.
'Alongside the decision of the Golkar Party's internal tribunal, there should be a national reconciliation meeting that involves two bickering camps so we can be sure that the transition team [established by the internal tribunal] will run well,' said Melki.
Meanwhile, Aburizal camp politician Mahyuddin said he was ready to run for the party chairmanship.
'If there is an extraordinary national meeting, I'm ready to run for the Golkar Party chairmanship. Moreover, Pak Habibie has said the next Golkar Party chairman should be a young cadre,' he said on the sidelines of a national leadership meeting held by the Aburizal camp at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Sunday.
Mahyuddin said several other names had also been mentioned as possible candidates for the party chair.
'I've heard that there are several other candidates. There is Pak Idrus [Idrus Marham], Pak Nurdin [Nurdin Halid], Pak Akom [Ade Komarudin] and Pak Aziz [Aziz Syamsuddin]. There is also Pak Agus Gumiwang and Pak Priyo Budi,' said Mahyuddin.
Aburizal has encouraged the holding of an extraordinary national meeting and stated that he would not run again for the leadership.
However, Aburizal's announcement drew protest from the party's provincial executive boards that said that they did not want an extraordinary national meeting. The decision about whether to hold the extraordinary conference is set to be decided at the leadership conference later today.
Separately, the splinter faction has also announced that Agung would not run to the top seat again if Aburizal also did not take part. 'Pak Agung will not run again for the party chairmanship if Pak Ical [Aburizal] does the same thing,' said Melki. (ebf)
